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Esmeralda
Esmeralda is the deuteragonist of Disney's 1996 animated film, [[The Hunchback of Notre Dame|''The'' Hunchback of Notre Dame]]. She is a young woman belonging to a marginalized group referred to as "gypsies". Esmeralda is an outspoken humanitarian, which drives her to protect the deformed bell-ringer, Quasimodo, from his oppressors—namely, Minister Frollo. This act of mercy, coupled with her beauty and cultural background, makes Esmeralda the main target of Frollo's wrath. Background Esmeralda is a Romani woman residing underneath Paris, in the hidden catacombs known as the Court of Miracles. She is a member of the Romani culture, led by Clopin, and works as an entertainment performer, or more specifically, a dancer, both in the streets and during more professional events, such as the Festival of Fools. She is regularly accompanied by her goat, Djali, who acts as her pet, confidante, and assistant during her performances. Personality Esmeralda is verbally powerful, street-wise, cunning and morale. She was the sole individual in all of France to downright rebel against Frollo during his reign and was openly against the judge's accusations of claiming the Romani culture to be a gang of thieves who engage in unholy practices of witchcraft. Due to this, she was often the target of arrest, but as mentioned above, Esmeralda is a cunning, independent character, who was shown to have the talent of outsmarting and evading Frollo's grasp time and time again, despite the number of odds against her. This would only erupt Frollo's tyranny further, but Esmeralda was not one to sacrifice her freedom for the sake of Frollo's suppression. Even when she is finally captured, and seconds away from death, she remained fiercely defiant, knowing her worth, and refusing to degrade herself by surrendering to Frollo. Aside from this fiery nature, Esmeralda is ultimately a kind, loving selfless soul underneath. She was the only human character in the film, for the first half, to ever show kindness towards the deformed and naïve Quasimodo. While Frollo and the rest of France viewed him as a monster, based on his appearance, Esmeralda felt otherwise, in spite of the initial shock in response to his appearance. Instead, she treated him as an average person, though with even more patience and kindness, due to his innocent, gentle, and selfless nature—so much so, that her actions can be mistaken for romantic affections. However, this is not the case, as Esmeralda's love towards Quasimodo were strictly platonic, proving that forms of deep love and care don't always have to relate to romance. In reality, her love is Phoebus. The reason she chose Pheobus over Quasimodo was not that Quasimodo was deformed, but because Quasimodo hadn't fully matured, and his blind adulation for her may have led to him becoming overly reliant on her. Though she seems to be a sultry and free-spirited person, the song "God Help the Outcasts" shows that Esmeralda cares about God and religion, as she turns to God in prayer at one point, praying for justice for the less fortunate and downtrodden. However, Esmeralda is not a fanatic, as Frollo is—For one, she does not get into a personal crisis by her falling in love with Phoebus, and for another, lyrics during the song include "I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there", referring to God, showing that she is not totally convinced of his existence, but still hopes to be heard, nevertheless. Physical appearance Esmeralda has medium brown skin, long, wavy raven-black hair, thick eyebrows, an hourglass figure and striking emerald green eyes (in fact, a possible reason is that "Esmeralda" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for "emerald"). She is designed to be very attractive, as Phoebus and Frollo are both immediately attracted to her. Her hair is tied back with a pink ribbon. Esmeralda wears a white top with a teal and gold bodice, along with a purple sarong and white petticoat. She is often barefoot in the first film (but wears black flat shoes in the sequel), and wears a golden hoop earring on her left ear, a golden bangle on her left wrist, and matching bracelet and anklet on both her right hand and right ankle. Appearances [[The Hunchback of Notre Dame|''The'' Hunchback of Notre Dame]] Esmeralda is first seen dancing in the streets for coins. Two guards come along and harass her, but with the help of Djali and Phoebus, Esmeralda escapes. She is then seen dancing at the festival of fools and catches the attention of everyone, even Frollo. When the time comes to crown the king of fools, she pulls Quasimodo onto the stage, thinking his face to be a mask. And she is understandably surprised to find out it is really his face. When the crowd is torturing Quasimodo, she solely comes to his aid and accuses Frollo of cruelty for not having it stopped sooner and for not providing justice to "the least of these in need of his help". Frollo orders her arrest for her defiance, but she uses magic to disappear by blowing her nose, after which Frollo accuses her of witchcraft. Esmeralda expertly dodges and outwits the soldiers sent after her and ultimately disappears from view by flipping onto a tent, after sufficiently humiliating Frollo and the sentries. Esmeralda is next seen following Quasimodo into the cathedral disguised together with Djali as an old man but is followed by Phoebus. She is initially aggressive towards him, up to the point of attacking him with a candlestick, but engages in conversation when he puts away his sword and introduces himself. When Frollo arrives and orders Phoebus to arrest her, Phoebus refuses, saying that Esmeralda has claimed sanctuary. Frollo and the soldiers are ordered out of the church by the Archdeacon. Frollo stays behind long enough to warn her that she can only stay inside for so long and hints at a physical attraction to the gypsy girl through sexual assault, eliciting repulsion from her. Frollo leaves and stations guards at every door, forcing Esmeralda to rethink her exit strategy. The Archdeacon counsels her against antagonizing Frollo further and at his suggestion, she offers a heartfelt prayer to God to help her and her people. Enchanted by her song, Quasimodo watches from afar and stumbles on some candles, alerting her of his presence after a parishioner who mistaken him causing trouble shouted at him. He escapes away to the belltower and she chases him, attempting to apologize to him for bringing him onto the stage while the parishioner is then stopped by the Archdeacon when he attempted to stop her and Djali from following him. She then stumbles upon Quasimodo's workshop and is instantly impressed by his talent. He begins to understand that she means him no harm and decides to show her around the bell tower. Esmeralda expresses her surprise that such a cruel man like Frollo raised such a wonderful boy. Quasimodo says that Frollo took him in even though he is a monster. Esmeralda cites Frollo's lie that gypsies are evil and says Frollo may be wrong about them both. Quasimodo offers to let her live with him in the bell tower where she can have sanctuary but she expresses her desire to escape the church as "gypsies don't do well in stone walls". Quasimodo carries her and Djali down the tower to the streets where she can escape. Esmeralda asks him to come with her, but he knows he would not be welcome and his place remains in the tower. Esmeralda promises they will meet again and gives him a map of the town which will lead him to the Court of Miracles where all the gypsies are hiding. Shortly afterward, Frollo initiates a manhunt for her and throws the town into chaos. She observes from a distance and sees him burn down an innocent family's house. Phoebus saves them in time and is arrested. She uses her sash to slingshot a rock at Frollo's horse, creating a distraction that allows Phoebus to escape by horseback but Frollo has his guards shoot Phoebus with a single arrow and Phoebus' wound nearly kills him. Esmeralda's quick thinking and medical attention save Phoebus' life, and she brings him to Quasimodo whom she knows will help her. She tends to his wounds and passionately kisses Phoebus, unwittingly breaking Quasimodo's heart as he was convinced she loved him. She escapes the bell tower when she hears Frollo approaching and leaves Phoebus in Quasimodo's care. Frollo bluffs that he knows where the Court of Miracles is and that he will attack it in the morning with one thousand men. Quasimodo and Phoebus quickly reach the Court of Miracles using the map Esmerelda gave them to try and warn them, only for Frollo to suddenly appear, having used Quasimodo to lead him there. Esmerelda is captured and sentenced to burn at the stake for the crime of witchcraft. As Frollo holds the torch to set the pyre ablaze, he offers her one last chance to be with him or be burned. She spits in his face in utter disgust and he attempts to burn her alive. She is saved in time by Quasimodo but ends up nearly suffocated and falls unconscious. Quasimodo cries over her seemingly dead body before fighting off Frollo. Esmeralda manages to awake, alive, and is rescued by Quasimodo from Frollo's attacks. They hide holding onto the balcony of the tall bell-tower but Frollo sees them and attacks them with his sword. Eventually, Esmeralda has knocked away and Frollo tries to get Quasimodo off his feet but is pulled down with Quasimodo. Esmeralda holds Quasi for dear life as Frollo climbs up on a gargoyle and prepares to hit them with his sword screaming "He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into a fiery pit!" However, the gargoyle starts to break off the cathedral causing Frollo to fall to his fiery death. The gargoyle seemed to briefly come to life, with glowing eyes, suggesting either that Frollo is now quite insane or that a divine intervention occurred: The judge had unwittingly spoken his own doom, a higher power deciding that Frollo, and not Esmeralda and Quasimodo, was "the wicked" that deserved to be plunged into the pit of fire. Esmeralda accidentally releases her grip on Quasimodo, but Phoebus, who found a way into the cathedral after Quasimodo and the gargoyles pour molten lead that prevented Frollo's soldiers from breaking in, saves him. Phoebus, realizing Quasimodo's feelings for Esmeralda, stands aside so Quasimodo can be with her. However, Quasimodo realizes their feelings for each other and interlocks their hands, having accepted their love and the two kiss. As Phoebus and Esmeralda emerge safely from the church to cheers to triumph from the crowd, Esmeralda extends her hand to Quasimodo to join them outside. As Quasimodo joins her, he is finally accepted into the town population. [[The Hunchback of Notre Dame II|''The'' Hunchback of Notre Dame II]] Esmeralda has married Phoebus and they have a son named Zephyr. She also wears black shoes instead of being barefoot. Her role in the film is much smaller than her part in the original, with the story now focusing on Quasimodo finding a love interest in Madellaine. Whenever Quasimodo had problems in the film, he usually turned to Esmeralda for advice. At one point, a very valuable bell was stolen by the new antagonist, Sarousch. Though distressed about the situation, Esmeralda joined Phoebus in watching a newly revealed (albeit misunderstood) villain named Madellaine and any other prisoners. When Madellaine revealed Sarousch was taking the bell to an underground escape passage, Esmeralda convinced a suspicious Phoebus to give her the benefit of the doubt. As such, Phoebus pursued Sarousch, and Esmeralda followed. After Sarousch was arrested and their son rescued, Esmeralda returned to the festival with everyone else. She and Phoebus were shown to have reconciled as they are seen smiling at each other before sharing a kiss. Esmeralda then smiled as she witnessed the new union of Quasimodo and Madellaine. Other appearances Musical Video games Disney Parks Disneyland Walt Disney World Tokyo Disney Resort Disneyland Paris Hong Kong Disneyland Differences from the source material Relationships Gallery Trivia * Category:Characters